


Memories of You

by overworkedunderwhelmed



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:09:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29774598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overworkedunderwhelmed/pseuds/overworkedunderwhelmed
Summary: When Adrien accidentally stumbles onto one of Marinette’s secrets, tucked safely away inside a book on her shelf, but not hidden as well as she hopes, he finds himself not entirely prepared to deal with the consequences.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 123
Kudos: 439





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Enberlight and toujoursmiraculous for beta reading.

As he buckled himself into the sedan, Adrien grinned from ear to ear. 

He could swear it was his lucky day. His Chinese tutor had travelled out of town and gotten delayed, too late to attend their standing lesson. With Nathalie still feeling under the weather, she didn’t protest much when he’d asked to have the Gorilla pick him up from a group project after school. 

It wasn’t a lot of time, but those precious, stolen minutes with his friends were far too few.

Besides, they were going to Marinette’s...which almost certainly meant sweets and the promise of video games.

It was nice to get spoiled, of course, but he was ecstatic enough just to get more time with his friends.

He could spoil his dinner rotten, but the unexpected race he'd had through Paris at lunch meant he could get away with it without fear of clueing in his nutritionist.

“I should only be an hour and a half,” he smiled guilelessly as he opened the car door. “Then I should be ready for you to come back and pick me up.”

* * *

In less than an hour, the project was done — at least what they could do with planning for today.

“Hey, Marinette!” Alya grinned as she stuffed her textbook into her bag. “Nino and I are going to run downstairs to the bakery.”

Marinette frowned, shooting a quick glance over at Adrien first before turning away. “We have some snacks up here.”

Nino grinned. “Yeah, but then we can also grab something to bring home.”

Alya arched a brow. “Younger siblings who find out their older sibling just went to the bakery and didn’t bring anything home for them is a recipe for disaster.”

“So is this,” she whispered, not quite quietly enough.

Nino adjusted his hat, glancing over at him worriedly. “We’ll be back up soon.”

“Besides,” Alya reminded them both. “You two can work on setting up the games before we get back, so we can sneak in another round before Adrien has to leave.”

While Marinette nibbled at her lip, Adrien simply smiled, reassuringly. “We can handle that.”

He didn’t mind much. It just meant he could enjoy spending time with Marinette.

He felt a lot more lonely than usual right now, and the warmth she radiated helped fill that void. 

Try as they might, things with Kagami hadn’t worked. Meanwhile, Ladybug still needed his help, but hadn’t changed her stance on relationships.

It had taken him a long, long while to be able to remind himself of that fact, but giving up hope was a hard thing sometimes. Even at the end he hadn’t been entirely all in to move forward with Kagami. Unfortunately, that ended up being a large part of the problem. 

Adrien had only acted after she told him his hesitation was hurting her. He couldn’t stand to see anyone he cared about in pain...especially a good friend. Not when he could help it.

He'd tried to do right by Kagami. However, it didn't take long before he realized trying was only doing more harm than good.

He knew what it was like to grow up in a big house, all alone, and feel the endless pressure to satisfy a parent. She deserved to have someone who could fully give her the attention and focus she deserved. 

Someone who wasn’t endlessly distracted by duties he would never be able to explain.

Until he could commit that sort of time — and figure out the muddled mess that was his heart — he would lean more on his friends.

Besides, Marinette just had this sweetly surprising way of kind of picking up his spirits when he was really feeling down. He didn’t feel like he was intruding upon her time whenever he got to spend his with her.

The problem was that Marinette was clearly a bit uncomfortable and he was not entirely sure how to make that any easier for her. They were in her house on her terms. 

Cautiously, he stepped back, trying to give her a little more space to collect herself.

“I can help you to bring down the video games so we can play downstairs, where there's more room?" 

“That sounds like a plan.” Her smile was wide.

Beaming at her praise, he lingered close following a step or two behind her as she scurried up the steps to her room.

Once he stepped back up to level ground, Adrien scanned her room quickly. He didn’t dare move, wanting to stay respectful of her stuff and her space. “Where are you keeping your games?”

Without a word, Marinette led him to the gaming system. 

Overeager to please, he knelt down and started to unplug it to move it downstairs

She knelt down beside him, quickly gathering up a few of the controllers before they reached for one at the same time.

Her hand shot back as if scalded.

Blinking, he turned towards her. “Are you alright?”

Her hands bracketed her face, which went three different shades of pink, practically matching the walls of the room.

A strangled cough crept from her throat. “Need water…” She whimpered, hiding her eyes away for just a second. “Too thirsty.”

Adrien sat back on his heels, blinking at the few truly odd sentences. “What?”

Her eyes shot towards the ceiling. “My plants. I need to go and water them.”

Confused, Adrien waved innocently as she rushed up the stairs.

Sighing, he quickly realized that all he could do was wait. At least he was getting better at reading what she was saying in jumbled terms before she darted off again.

He wasn’t a fan of being alone, but at least her house was far more cozy and welcoming than his cavernous room. 

That was probably a good thing, as Plagg decided to wake up from his nap in his shirt pocket and cause chaos. “She really does keep struggling around you still.”

“What?” he murmured defensively. “I don’t really mind. It’s cute.”

Unlike most of his fans, Marinette had never been pushy. Frowning, he glanced around her room, suddenly noticing the nearly empty walls of her room. He hadn’t noticed the change last time he was up here. Absently, his fingers traced over the darker pink lines in the wall, wondering when she had taken them down. Maybe after all that mess at school after Jagged was here?

Plagg snorted. “You miss those pictures, don’t you?”

Adrien panicked, glancing up frantically towards the skylight. “Quiet, Plagg. She might hear you.”

“Deny it all you want, kid. But Pigtails is a little too good at tying you into knots.” He chuckled, “which might be worse considering she _definitely_ isn’t trying.”

“Plagg!” He hissed, lunging forward to grab his Kwami and shut his mouth himself if he had to.

Quickly, Plagg phased away...too late to stop Adrien’s momentum before he knocked a few books off her desk.

“Oh, no,” Adrien breathed as the books fell from their spot on her desk. Carefully, he stooped to pick them up, noticing that a dried red rose tumbled out. 

Adrien gingerly picked up the red pressed rose. A little sad and stunned, he let it roll between his fingers before placing it back in the book and pushing back onto her desk— at least as close as he could remember it.

Someone else liked Marinette. Well enough to give her a red rose…

Someone _she_ liked well enough that she kept it. 

After all, hadn’t Kagami only kept the rose he had given her — the very one Ladybug had refused — because she valued it from him? 

Raking his hand through his hair, Adrien found himself once again regretting his decision to turn her down all those months ago.

Plagg sighed. “Good grief. She’s as sappy as you are.”

Scowling, Adrien motioned to his shirt as the skylight door creaked open from above. Plagg was only just safely back in his place resting in his shirt when he glanced back up at Marinette. Thankfully, she was in far less of a rush to come back down, though her cheeks still adorably flushed. 

He smiled. “All finished?”

Marinette exhaled slowly before nodding. “We should bring everything down. They'll be back soon.”

Adrien beamed, dutifully picking up as much of the system as he could before she could even lean down. “After you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to toujoursmiraculous for beta reading!

He _tried_ to put it out of his thoughts. Really, he did. It was just that Marinette was never far from his mind from that point forward. 

It probably didn’t help that he was never physically too far from her most of the days he could get out of the house. Except in the case of Akuma battles and patrols.

Chat Noir grimaced as he scaled to the rooftop of the school.

Even then, those battles kept hitting a little too close to home. 

He had barely suited up for fencing before an Akuma attacked, stirring up wind damage that would have made stormy weather proud.

Setting his jaw, Chat Noir scanned the horizon, looking for the best only to catch a familiar flash of pink on the nearly empty streets below. 

Why was Marinette out in this mess? 

He didn’t hesitate, dipping down ...he couldn’t let that linger…

“I’m fine, Chat Noir!” She shouted into his ear as he scooped her up off the ground.” 

Vaulting back up to the wind-sheltered rooftops as best as he could manage while keeping her balanced against his side. “Not in this mess, you aren’t.” He shot back. “You don’t have powers anymore. Remember?”

Frowning, she looped her arms around his shoulders.

“Let me get you home.”

With as much grace as he could muster with a windstorm whistling at one pair of ears and surprisingly warm breath setting his cat ear twitching on the other, he glided them both down into her room by his baton until she was safely back on solid ground inside her room. 

Wincing, he belatedly noticed that the sudden rush of wind inside would set half of the papers in her room flying, with half of the books fluttering open.

“I’m fine now,” she reassured quickly, pushing him back towards her skylight. “Won't Ladybug need you?”

His eyes slid down to where her hands lingered on his shoulders, moving him back with surprising force...especially considering her size. “I’ll worry less knowing you’re safe.”

She stuck her tongue out. “I’ll worry less once this Akuma is defeated.”

Tapping a two fingered salute at her, Chat Noir pressed the baton to extend his baton again.

His half grin only dimmed after he spotted more than one yellow rose flying around behind her worried gaze.

* * *

When Ladybug finally arrived — Ryuuko in tow — the battle was over quickly.

Much though he hated to admit, it bugged him.

Ladybug and Kagami raced the most direct path home, running right past Marinette’s.

Frowning, Chat Noir decided to take the long way home.

Racing the edge of the neighborhood, he spotted Luka out on his bike, his guitar case and a large bouquet of flowers in his basket.

Eyes narrowing, Chat Noir leapt down to ground level as he slowed, ducking into a small residence to make the delivery.

Tilting his head, Chat Noir stood a short distance from Luka’s bike, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Luka come back out.

Luka blinked, sitting back down on his bicycle seat, kicking up the kickstand “Did you need something?”

“Just puzzling out a little mystery.”

Luka shrugged. “Your heart does seem a little troubled.”

“Then maybe you can put me at ease.”

Luka’s brows rose. “I can try.”

Chat Noir nodded. That would be good enough. It would _have to be_. “Have you ever given a girl flowers?”

Luka chuckled. “I’m _really_ just the messenger.”

Chat froze, eyes widening. “Then you haven’t—”

Grinning, Luka balanced on his pedals. “When it comes to relationships and showing feelings, I am more of the serenading type. I'd much rather put money towards a date and make nice memories.”

* * *

Adrien sat at the dinner table, staring down a vase of pink roses as his only dining companion.

At least he now knew the flowers hadn’t come from Luka, but that only left him with far more questions than answers. 

* * *

Arriving at patrol twenty minutes early, Chat Noir laid down against the rooftop.

Since Kagami hadn’t really ever gotten any other flowers (outside of the occasional award bouquet from competitions), that really only left him with one other friend to ask.

“Alright, Chat Noir.” Ladybug leaned over at him, grinning down at him when he pouted back. “What’s got your dander up?”

His lips pulled into a half smirk at her pun, only he was too focused on the trouble at hand. “I gave someone a gift.”

Ladybug sat down beside him. “That doesn’t really sound like a problem.”

“The problem is that I’m not sure she kept mine.” He frowned, glancing over into her worried blue eyes. “But I did see another just like it...one I _know_ didn’t come from me.”

“Oh, Chaton,” she murmured, patting his arm gently. “This girl? She’s a friend?”

His shoulders slumped against the ground. “I thought so.”

“Then trust her. It might just be me, but I know I kept gifts from a very close friend of mine.” Ladybug smiled softly, gently tapping at his bell. “With everything,” she waved a hand past her red and spots, “I had no choice but had to hide it away. There would just be too many questions otherwise.”

He exhaled slowly, glancing over at her with a smile. 

“Besides, everyone has their secrets.”

* * *

After another whole day fidgeting his way through class, sneaking furtive, curious glances back over his shoulder, he found himself no closer to any answers.

Unexpectedly, Nino cornered him in the locker rooms before class. “You didn’t answer your phone at all last night.”

Wincing, Adrien quickly plastered on a half-hearted grin. “Sorry! I lost track of time and then I fell asleep.”

Which was true… There aren’t that many clocks around while out on an impromptu patrol to clear his head.

“I’m not sure what it is, but you’ve been...off for the past few days.” 

Adrien sighed. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe he was just out of options, and all of Plagg’s few helpful suggestions involved copious amounts of cheese. 

Maybe a superhero needed a rescue, every now and then. “Someone gave Marinette flowers.”

Nino’s brows rose. “And that bothers you?”

Adrien shrugged but was otherwise silent.

“Hey, dude.” Nino confided. “You know that’s not anything that should bother you, right?”

“Right,” he breathed.

“But if it did…?” Nino tested.

Adrien glanced over at him. 

“If it did...maybe you could give her one.”

He blinked, his eyes straying over to Marinette’s locker.

Now _there_ was an idea...

* * *

In spite of himself, Adrien was intensely curious. 

After all, he had already given her that pink rose...one he hadn’t thought all that much about until he’d seen it across the table before he was due to meet her and her parents.

But now...it was oddly important to him. Sure, Marinette might not like him any more than a friend. She’d made that point clear...but she _had_ confessed to him as Chat Noir.

He might have had to turn her down at the time...but now he couldn’t help but mull over it all over again.

It only left the question of how…?

It was risky to leave her anything as himself. Hard getting a clear answer, and he wasn’t supposed to know about it at all.

He just really wanted to understand her better. After all, she still seemed a little more anxious around him — in person at least.

* * *

Once the cover of night fell, Chat Noir touched down on her balcony, ducking down below the skyline. It was important to keep her as safe as he could.

He tapped on her window. 

“Chat Noir?” She raced up, eyes scanning around instantly. “Where is the Akuma?”

He chuckled softly. “No Akuma.”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Then why are you here?” 

Chat Noir’s grin widened. “I’m here to talk about flowers…”

“Flowers?’ Marinette’s brows shot up as she peered over at him with the oddest look on her face. “I thought you were in love with Ladybug?”

He smiled softly. “I’m just asking for advice.”

“Oh.” Marinette leaned forward, looking out across the labyrinth of lights. “If I can help…”

Thankfully, she didn’t notice his sly grin. “I think you can. You see, I need a bit of advice.”

She smiled softly at that.

“I asked another friend, too. But she said it can vary from person to person.”

Marinette froze, slowly glancing back over her shoulder.

“ _Hypothetically… _” he mused, “Any idea why a girl would save a flower?”__

____

She tilted her head, looking at him with a pensive expression before she finally spoke. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she murmured. “If it came from someone important to her? They're memories.”

__

“Oh…” His brows furrowed, clearing his throat.

__

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back against the rail so she could watch him more closely. “I mean, I kept the rose you gave me.”

__

He stilled, holding his breath. “I wasn’t sure that you would.”

__

Marinette chuckled airily, setting her chin onto her palm as she stood at the balcony rail beside him. “It isn’t often that a superhero comes over for dinner.” Her eyes softened, glowing far more brightly than the dim fairy lights could reflect against her pupils. “But, I am still glad I did. After all, it is now also a reminder of when I got to help, too. Since I couldn't keep it all.”

__

He blinked, nodding. Lifting his eyes, he feigned ignorance. “Wouldn’t you get a lot of questions, though? I wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”

__

Her laughter was far louder this time. “Not when you hide it away. It’s hard to keep secrets… especially with as many Akuma that are around anymore.” She shook her head, as her jaw set. “There have been way more Akuma in my room than I’d like to think about.”

__

He smirked. “Not to mention Alya…”

__

She blinked. “Well… you're not wrong about that.” she shook her head. “Anyways, it isn’t like anyone is really lined up around the block to leave me flowers…”

__

He blinked, in quiet confusion. "That's their mistake."

__

Sighing, she closed her eyes and turned her gaze back up towards the stars above. “I wish I had your confidence.”

__

“I’ m sorry.” He murmured. “I thought for sure you were dating someone…”

__

Marinette shook her head sadly. “That boy I liked was much harder to forget than I thought.”

__

He patted her shoulder, squeezing it gently as he took a step towards her. “I understand that feeling all too well.”

__

Looking up, Marinette searched his gaze. “You really do. Don’t you?”

__

His smile tightened. “Did you ever confess?”

__

Her head bent forward, staring down at her feet. “I can hardly put the words together. I've tried hundreds of times.” she winced, clearly still berating herself silently. “He still has no idea, and I'm just hopeless.”

__

“ _Hopeful_ , _purr_ haps.” He grinned.

__

She snorted at his sudden pun. 

__

He bumped his shoulder lightly against hers. It was a victory, even if only a small one. “If you haven’t asked, you know there’s still a chance for you.”

__

Inhaling deeply, her cheeks flushed in the dim early evening light. “That’s not such a bad thing, I suppose.”

__

He beamed. “Maybe you should try to give _him_ flowers.”

__

Her hand scrubbed over his face. “Chat Noir, I have made that boy more things than I could count.”

__

He frowned, crossing his arms over his shoulders. “And he still doesn’t understand that you like him?”

__

She whimpered slightly, angling herself away from him to walk the few steps back to her lounge chair. “He doesn’t _know_ that it has all come from me.”

__

“I’ve forgotten to sign things. I had two notes get swapped. One thing was even signed...but the card must have gotten lost. I know I can’t always trust my words, but there’s only ever been one thing I was brave enough to put into his hands.”

__

“Marinette,” he sighed, coming to crouch down beside her chair. “You have to be one of the bravest girls I know. I don’t think anyone else has ever managed to save both heroes of Paris entirely on her own.”

__

“That doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous or embarrassed.” She frowned.

__

He tilted his head, watching her. Marinette was always honest, but even this was far more openly honest and vulnerable. He was half amazed that she felt comfortable enough with him to share.

__

“The only time I wasn’t ever really stumbling over my own words has been when he needed my help.”

__

Chat Noir smiled. She was far more good at that than even she had realized. “He must have really appreciated you, then.”

__

“Maybe…” She nibbled at her lip, before wearily slumping her head back against the lounger. Her hands scrubbing over her face. “If only it was all as easy as just handing over a lucky charm…”

__

Eyes widening in an instant, a very stunned Chat Noir lost his usually well honed balance.

__

Worse. he finally found his own tongue suddenly more sticky than he was used to.

__

* * *

__

Impossibly, Adrien managed to make it back home in one piece.

__

She liked him.

__

Marinette liked _him_.

__

_All_ of him, even.

__

It hadn’t been the full roller coaster of feelings that he had with Ladybug right from the start...but it was impossible to deny that those words sent his heart racing… With her, it wasn’t the adrenaline rush of battle, it was the sweeter tempo of patrol, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the rooftops.

__

He already leaned on her far, far more than he’d realized.

__

For the past hour, he had done little else but pace in front of the window until Plagg groused and grumbled for him to sleep.

__

Not that he _could_.

__

Fretfully, Adrien paused, staring out the window as the moon cut through the cloudy skies. Raking a hand through his wind mussed hair, he sighed. 

__

After all, maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe there was another boy out there with a Lucky Charm from her. 

__

Marinette was certainly kind and giving enough.

__

Only there was no way to be sure. Not until she made that clear.

__

He pulled up one of their candid pictures on the phone from that last group study session, fixated on her sweetly embarrassed smile when he had tugged her into a selfie hug where Nino and Alya had ducked in over the couch behind them.

__

If there was even the smallest chance that it really might be him, he really had no choice. He had to make it very, very clear to Marinette that her feelings were entirely welcome.

__

She might not ever confess what she thought of him otherwise.

__

Setting the phone back down on his nightstand, Adrien forced his eyes to close, willing himself to sleep.

__

Morning would bring another day. A day to try to convince her…

__

After all, Marinette wasn’t the only hopeful romantic.

__

* * *

__

Gleefully, Adrien was up with the sun. He was dressed and down to breakfast well before the house was ready to deal with him.

__

Thankfully, that meant no one was ready and looming when he came down to the dining room.

__

The day’s arrangement was white roses. 

__

Adrien’s eyes narrowed. That wouldn’t do…

__

He hadn’t done tons of research with colors of roses for Ladybug only to be half-hearted now. 

__


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to deinde-prandium and toujoursmiraculous for beta reading!

A weary smile warming his face as he slowly pulled himself free of his cover, Adrien still hopped out of bed, rushing to get ready and be out the door as early as the Gorilla would drive him. 

Sighing, he pulled the day’s outfit from his closet and headed into the bathroom to get dressed.

He glanced in the long mirror. His smile wasn’t as dawn-bright as the smile he’d been wearing two days ago, when he’d managed to wake up even earlier to sneak a yellow rose into her locker.

It was just his luck that day that Marinette had rushed in right with the bell. Then, Father had called him home for lunch, so he didn’t have time to run down to the locker room and try to see her reaction.

Of course, it was just his luck that Father hadn’t even been downstairs for lunch anyways…yet another of his endless, last-minute meetings had gotten in the way. 

At least that had made it easier to eat and then sneak off for a mid-day Akuma attack. He’d barely made it home in time to head straight back to school.

He hadn’t even been sure if Marinette even saw it that day — not until he saw that the yellow rose was gone, when he’d ducked in to drop off yesterday’s soft pink rose.

However, Marinette never seemed to notice. She might have scrambled in right before the bell on Monday, but yesterday, she’d arrived with time to spare, early enough that she might have checked her locker first.

Adrien sighed. He had hoped he’d at least gotten her attention. If anything, he was more than a little puzzled by the firm frown and quiet confusion on her face.

As he grabbed a quick breakfast and headed down to the car, he stifled the urge to yawn. He still needed to get to school first thing. His plan required it. There was no other way for him to sneak off undetected to transform and head out to the same florist who had helped him with gifts for Ladybug.

Leaning his head against the window, he stared out the window of the sedan and smiled.

As he finally hurried into school, Adrien quickly ducked into the locker room. “Plagg, could you please...?”

Sighing heavily, Plagg popped open her locker door.

Sure enough, the locker itself was empty again.

“So she did take it…” Plagg’s eyes narrowed. “I thought girls were supposed to like flowers.”

“Marinette _must_ have misunderstood.” Shutting his eyes, Adrien closed the door again, this time leaving it just slightly ajar so he wouldn’t have to ask Plagg again. “I started with the yellows and pinks. Her friendship was so important to me. It was what let my own interest bloom and flourish, as I got the chance to know her more and more.”

Plagg simply scoffed. “I _told_ you cheese was much easier.”

Setting his jaw, Adrien stuffed his own bag into his locker and dashed back out the darkest corner of the courtyard, hastily transforming and vaulting up to the rooftops.

If she was feeling disheartened, he knew he had no choice but to change tactics. That was the absolute opposite of what he was going for here.

* * *

Chat Noir leaned forward, eagerly watching as a little old man pulled a prized single rose from an oversized vase, carefully wrapping it in tissue paper.

A yellow rose with red tips along the edges.

The florist was ecstatic, handing over the day’s rose with glee. “Let’s hope your Lady likes this one, eh?”

Chat Noir simply grinned, not bothering to correct him as he waved and headed out. “I hope so.” 

After all, he could only hope that Marinette might feel the same.

He cradled the flower to his chest, running much more slowly and carefully back towards school.

It might be a risk, but he was more used to taking those…

And the biggest risks were the ones most worth taking.

* * *

Unfortunately for him, Marinette _definitely_ had plans of her own.

Plans that — perhaps even _more_ unfortunately — had forced her to wake up early in spite of the late night attack. There was no other way to catch a certain Cat in the act.

Finding a yellow rose out of the blue had surprised her. She didn’t see it until it was time to head home. Thankfully, she managed to sneak it into her bag in one piece. 

The pink one on the other hand… that only confirmed to her who she had to be dealing with.

It had been a good thing she had come in so early, too.

When she rounded the corner, arms across her chest, ready to lay into Chat Noir, she was not prepared when it was Adrien she spotted leaning into her locker…

In shock, Marinette gasped aloud, stumbling backwards to collapse in an undignified heap on the floor.

It was only then that she spotted Plagg. Paling, she gaped up at him and his ridiculous Cheshire grin before he phased back into her locker.

In doing so, of course, she revealed that she had been seen.

Biting her lip to keep from shouting any more, she could only hope that Plagg decided to stay quiet and give her a chance to make heads or tails of what to do with the information. If he _didn’t_ , she was going to have to acknowledge the Cat Kwami in the room. 

Adrien, very concerned, rushed over to check on her. “Are you alright, Marinette?”

She paled at the sight of him. “Just klutzy…” 

Adrien smiled, offering her a hand up. “You might be a little klutzy, but you haven’t fallen for a while now.”

Marinette swallowed, as she caught sight of the rose that he still held in his other hand. Before, she could have dealt with Chat easily. She wasn’t built to try and process this right to his face. “What were _you_ doing in my locker?. I thought… I thought it was…”

“Who?” Adrien tilted his head, his brows arching high in confusion. 

Gulping, her eyes strayed back over to her locker as she dusted herself off. “Chat Noir. He was talking with me about flowers the other day.”

“Oh?” Now Adrien’s voice was the one that sounded a bit strained. “I...” he sighed, raking his hand through the hair at the base of his neck. Hesitating only a moment, he lifted the flower up, holding out to her in offering. “I found one in your room the other day. I didn’t mean to,” his eyes dart fleetingly — accusingly back to the locker — “but a book fell off the shelf.” 

Little by little, Marinette's heart rate slowed, as the pieces locked together before her eyes.

His soft smile turned rueful. “I expected to pick up the book. I didn’t really expect to find the dried red rose.”

Her jaw dropped. She couldn’t help herself. Okay... _now_ she was freaking out again. “What?” her voice rose half an octave.

“I know girls sometimes saved flowers… but that it didn’t mean the same for everyone.” His pupils were wide, as the rose fell back to his side with his hand. His eyes shifted away from hers. “When I ran into Chat Noir, I asked him to stop by and ask…”

She smiled softly, panic abating slightly. His green eyes were growing ever more familiar to her with each passing moment. “You did, did you?” Her eyes strayed from his gaze as she fussed with her hair. “He mentioned something interesting?”

Smiling softly, Adrien helped her back up to her feet. “For you, they represented memories…”

“Cherished ones,” she confirmed.

His sigh was surprising. “It just _bugged_ me.”

_Oh._ Marinettebit back a grin. Whenever he realized just who she was, he was going to be _impawsible_ with his punning. “What did?”

“How long have we been friends, now, Marinette?” He bowed his head slightly, deep in thought. “I know it is mostly because of my father, that I’ve not been able to come and hang out with everyone.” He pouted. “With Nino and Alya, they’re always on the same wavelength. He’s one of my best friends, but sometimes that’s a lonely place.”

She smiled, ruffling his hair fondly, on instinct. “I know what you mean.”

“I know you haven’t always felt comfortable around me.” He closed his eyes, taking a calming, steadying breath. “It never felt lonely with you, Marinette.” 

Her lips parted as she inhaled sharply. 

She watched him, not daring to let that breath go.

The charms...her standing up to his father… even just the smallest things in class. It had meant a lot; clearly far more than she’d ever realized. 

Chat Noir had given little hints along the way. 

His father wasn’t very kind. His mother was gone.

And escaping as Chat Noir had been freeing for him in a way that he adored, even in spite of the terrifying moments where she had to watch him fade away to nothingness.

Where she was his only hope of coming back...

Inhaling deeply through the nose and then back through her mouth, she forced herself to be calm and focused. 

She had been indecisive before. Then again, she thought she had understood it all.

Now it was clear that everything wasn’t as black and white as it all had appeared.

Wrinkling up her nose, she mulled over the possibilities. Even in that bad timeline, they had been in love, but that wasn’t anything new. 

They just hadn’t known it.

Her eyes narrowed. Someone else must have realized and been able to turn Adrien against her... 

Setting her jaw, her eyes flashed, brightening with determination. She wasn’t about to give them the chance.

With daring she was almost certainly borrowing from Tikki at her side, she stared straight up into his widening eyes. “You know… I think I will take that rose now.”

Blinking, Adrien held the red-tipped yellow rose in his outstretched hands. “Are you sure?”

Blushing softly, Marinette savored the sweet smell, before glancing up at him, considering. “Can I ask a favor though?”

“If it is something I can do? Sure.” He shrugged, shoulders falling and dropping all the tension he had been holding onto.

Marinette grinned, walking over to her locker. He kept pace with her, keeping a careful distance. “I just wanted to see if you could stop over after school.”

“I’ve got fencing…” his grin turned wide and sly. “But I probably could sneak away.”

She snorted indelicately. “I don’t want you to get in trouble. But whenever you can get away, I’ll be waiting.”

* * *

Adrien was so distracted that Kagami practically kicked him out. 

He was sure there were going to be bruises from where she knocked him off his feet. To be fair, after earlier, you could have easily knocked him down with a feather.

Thankfully, Hawkmoth — and any and all feathers — were actually leaving him alone today.

From the moment D'Argencourt sent him home early, he scrambled back to the locker room, changing as quickly as his years of modeling demanded.

Plagg snorted as Adrien threw the bundled up fencing uniform in whole. “Marinette is still going to be there. Even if you rush.”

Adrien smiled softly. “If I rush, I can have a whole half hour with her before the Gorilla notices I’m missing.”

* * *

“Hey.” She smiled softly, as she opened the door and motioned for him to follow.

“Hey…” Grinning, he scrambled up the stairs after her.

If Marinette was surprised when he knocked half-way through his fencing time, she didn’t let it show. He smirked. She would have been far more surprised if he had shown up from her balcony. 

He was sorely tempted, if he wasn’t already worried about her staying safe. Thankfully, Plagg decided to make himself scarce.

When they were finally up to her room, she carefully closed the door behind them.

“So what did you want to show me?”

Smiling fondly, Marinette grabbed that familiar book from her desk. “It occurred to me that in all you had mentioned, there were definitely a few more memories that you were missing. Memories I have of you.”

Placing it into his hand, Adrien sat down. With reverent care, he opened the pages, one by one.

Pressed between them, were far more flowers dried and pressed between the pages.

Pink and Red...and Yellow…

_Lots_ of Yellow.

Adrien frowned, suddenly very confused. Before this week, there was only ever one rose he’d given to Marinette…

There had been other roses of course… but he hadn’t been quite _himself_ when he’d given those out…

His eyes shot open, his head swinging back to meet her sly gaze. 

Besides, every other rose he’d given — barring the one that eventually had ended up with Kagami... 

...had gone to _Ladybug_. Not Marinette.

_Unless..._

He stared at her, stunned as he watched her smile widen. Her blue eyes turned far more mischievous than he’d ever seen from her before, but he couldn’t deny the growing familiarity.

Not _again_. 

“I don’t understand.” Adrien shook his head, his mouth growing suddenly dry as he recalled Plagg’s dire warnings at the time. “Why would you show me all this? You were never okay with it before?” 

Her gaze dropped down. She must have noticed how he was nervously shuffling his ring. 

“I understood why we needed to not say anything. I really did,” he assured her.

She shrugged, putting her hand over his and then pulling it away...with his ring still securely in place. “Sometimes, good communication is necessary between friends.”

“The endless secrets have mostly meant there’s a lot I’ve had to hide away. Even from friends.” She sighed. “I could never know when revealing one secret might put everyone I know and love at risk.”

Somberly, he nodded. “I won’t tell a soul.” Adrien gazed at her softly, reaching out to hold her hand. “You have to know that.”

“I know you would never do it on purpose.” She stepped in close, pulling him into a hug and nestling her head against his chest to hear his heartbeat. “It just means we’ll have to be all that much more careful.”

“If it means I just have to sneak in hugs like this,” he chuckled. “I think I can manage.”

Stepping back, Marinette smiled at him for a moment before nibbling on the inside of her lip thoughtfully. “Do you still have a little time?”

“A little.” He smiled. “Maybe just enough for you to knock me down in Ultimate Mecha Strike III once or twice.”

Marinette’s grin widened, pulling him to sit on her desk chair. “Another time, _purr_ haps.”

Adrien beamed at that.

“Good,” she murmured. “Now, do me a favor and close your eyes.”

Adrien arched a brow up at her in suspicion. “The last time I closed my eyes like that, I ended up tied to a kite.”

“And I didn’t let you get hurt then, either.” Tilting her head, she went for the killing blow. “Trust me.”

Slowly — obligingly — he closed his eyes. 

“Put your hands out.”

As soon as he did, he felt a soft fabric placed into his hands.

He might not have his sight at the moment but the separated thick, strands were unmistakable. Yarn. He let loose a startled chuckle. “Should you let me play with this?”

“That depends,” she murmured, leaning against the dresser and watching him as his fingers continued to slide through the fabric. “Do you recognize it?”

He looked down. The yarn was blue. A very _familiar_ blue… 

“This looks like my scarf.” Adrien frowned. “Marinette, did my father commission you?”

“No,” she said simply.

Adrien sighed. “I didn’t think he would. Honestly, I thought — I _hoped_ — he’d made it.”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Her hand rested atop his a moment before she picked up the fabric and wound it back neatly 

“Marinette…” 

“Hmm?” She turned away to set the yarn back into its place..

“Why didn’t you ever say anything? I just thought you had forgotten about me.”

“That first day when you walked in wearing it, you seemed much happier thinking it was from him. I didn’t want to take that from you.”

“Why?” Stunned, he shook his head. “Marinette, you must have put in hours. It was _your_ gift. I would have been really happy to know it came from you.”

She fidgeted, clearly wanting to pace, but she didn’t seem to want to move away from him either. “You know I’m not always the best with words.”

Adrien shook his head. “Not when it matters.”

“There is a big difference in stakes.” She sighed. “When the whole of Paris is relying on us, I don’t even think about it. Not anymore. You made that choice _that_ much easier for me back at the start. It was your firm confidence in me that helped me to stand back up and continue the fight, in spite of the doubts from everyone else.”

His brows furrowed, unsure exactly where she was going with all this.

Quietly, she stared up at him, nibbling at her lip. “Now, the difference is when it matters to me.”

Tikki smiled, hovering in one mostly empty corner of the room. “Adrien, I think what Marinette is trying to say is that you might understand better if you start by looking here.”

She pointed down to a black umbrella. He picked it up, brows rising at the initials on the handle.

“You still have this?” 

“Since the beginning.”

He gaped, eyes darting back and forth between the initials and the sweetest look in her blue eyes. He didn’t dare to hope she means what he thinks she means. Not after she’s denied it over and over.

“I know you’re clever.” She stepped closer to him, reaching out for his hand, with a sly little smirk. “I’m pretty sure you can connect the dots.”

Still hesitant, his brows drew together, even though by now he had to be able to piece together why. He was certainly clever enough “I think I need to hear it. Just to be sure.” His lips parted, a little breathlessly as he leaned a little closer. “I need to know I won’t ruin everything if I am wrong.”

Her words failed her… by now, she knew that was a definite possibility. Lucky for them both, Marinette had ample practice thinking on her feet. 

With no other choice but an action, she leaned in even further, insistent on leaving him in no doubt of her feelings.

When her lips pressed to his, Adrien rocked back slightly, a bit shocked. With only the slightest pressure from her lips, her hands came up to cradle his face. He practically melted under her touch, every bit the purring kitten he pretended to be. 

The insistent pressure from her lips slowed to gentling, as his arms slipped down her back to rest just above her waist, pulling her a little closer. 

He was afraid to let go, lest he wake up to discover this was nothing more than a dream.

He’d had nightmares enough…and more kisses from her that he could never remember, even when he so desperately had tried.

She nibbled at her lip, leaning back from him to watch his expression. Cheeks flushed, bright eyes. “Did you catch that?”

He leaned back in closing his eyes as he pressed his forehead to hers, nuzzling her nose. “Loud and clear, _my Lady_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more WIP completed! 💖


End file.
